---
title: "Liu Shaoqi: Chinese Communist Leader | Model Diplomat"
description: "Liu Shaoqi was a Chinese Communist leader and President from 1959 to 1968, known for his role in the Cultural Revolution and party discipline."
url: "https://modeldiplomat.com/learn/glossary/liu-shaoqi"
---

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Model Diplomat Research Team · Last reviewed June 22, 2026

TL;DR

- Liu Shaoqi (1898–1969) was a Chinese Communist theoretician and statesman who served as President of the People's Republic of China from 1959 to 1968 before being purged during the Cultural Revolution.
- What major work did Liu Shaoqi author and why is it significant?
- Why did Liu Shaoqi clash with Mao Zedong?
- When was Liu Shaoqi rehabilitated and by whom?
- What positions did Liu Shaoqi hold within the CCP and state?

[Civil Service & Diplomatic Exams](https://modeldiplomat.com/learn/civil-services/glossary)Updated June 22, 2026

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## Timeline

1. 27 April 1959

   He was elected Chairman (President) of the PRC on , succeeding Mao Zedong in that post after the catastrophe of the Great Leap Forward forced Mao to retreat…

2. 12 November 1969

   Denied medical treatment and held in detention in Kaifeng, Henan, Liu died on .

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Example

In October 1968, the Twelfth Plenum of the CCP's Eighth Central Committee, orchestrated by Mao Zedong, formally expelled Liu Shaoqi from the party "forever" and dismissed him as PRC President during the Cultural Revolution.

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